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Injustice For All
"Injustice For All" is the 18th and 19th episodes of . It first aired on September 6 and 13, 2002. Plot Part I Lex Luthor's criminal activities are finally exposed in a sting by the Justice League, when Luthor lords it over a Superman rendered helpless by Kryptonite, who turns out to be J'onn J'onzz in disguise, with Batman and Green Lantern recording the conversation. Luthor flees the LexCorp tower in a personal aircraft. Superman flies after him, but Luthor has an unexpected seizure, and Superman must act quickly to keep him from crashing. Luthor awakens in a hospital bed. Superman and a doctor inform him that he is suffering from an incurable form of blood cancer caused by long-term exposure to the Kryptonite's radiation. Luthor loses interest in defending his case, and so is sent to prison. He convinces Ultra-Humanite, who occupies the next cell, to help him escape in exchange for a large sum of money. Once free, he summons a group of other super-criminals: Cheetah, Copperhead, The Shade, Solomon Grundy, and Star Sapphire, for one purpose: to destroy the League. In their first attack, they lure the League into a trap, but quickly find that the League is too well-organized for them to overcome. Both sides suffer one casualty: Batman is wounded by Copperhead's venom, while Copperhead is taken captive. While Luthor is ranting about the Gang's failure, Joker appears. Luthor orders him out, but Joker says they need him, as he is the one who knows Batman best – to demonstrate, he plucks a bat-shaped homing device off Luthor. Refusing to rest after being cured of the venom, Batman follows the signal to the Gang's hideout, but is ambushed and knocked out. Part II Batman comes around encased in full-body titanium restraints, and a stasis field shielding him from J'onn's telepathy. With various members of the Gang taking turns to guard him, Luthor takes his utility belt to his lab. Superman and the Flash interrogate Copperhead in jail. He refuses to talk, and when Superman physically threatens him, he mocks him by calling him a boy scout and comparing him to a school bully. As Copperhead is taken back to his cell, having revealed nothing, Superman wonders aloud, "How does Batman do it?" In his cell, Batman works his magic on Cheetah, his current guard. He listens with sympathy to her story of how she was forced to use her experimental genetic techniques on herself, and, feeling a rush of attraction, she kisses him. Luthor manages to disable the anti-theft devices in the utility belt, and finds a remote control for entry into the Watchtower. Shade, Sapphire, and Grundy infiltrate the tower, knock out J'onn, and plant a bomb. On Earth, Luthor has another seizure. Afraid that he won't live long enough even to see his revenge, he asks for help. Humanite agrees, for an extra fee. The League returns to the Tower. While they are ministering to J'onn, someone telephones the Tower and warns them about the bomb. Conducting a hurried search, they manage to find it and Flash throws it into space seconds before it explodes. Seeing his plan has failed, Luthor takes out his anger on the Gang, who decide to quit. He only manages to keep them around by offering to triple their pay. In the cell, Joker, who is guarding Batman, is also disappointed to see the plot has failed. But he decides to disobey Luthor's orders and kill Batman anyway. Fortunately, Grundy arrives and forces Joker away. Batman thanks him and asks for a glass of water. Grundy gives it to him, and Batman spits it into the stasis field, disabling it. Immediately, J'onn knows where he is. In another part of the hideout, Humanite devises a treatment that temporarily stabilizes Luthor's condition, which involves encasing his chest in a containment suit. Grundy comes running to tell him that the League is on their way. Before preparing their last ambush, Luthor says they need to expose the traitor who tipped off the League. He checks the surveillance videos and sees Cheetah kissing Batman. Grundy drags her away, even as she screams that she's innocent. The League enters the hideout and attacks. They seem to be winning, but Luthor appears in an armored battlesuit that harnesses the kryptonite radiation his body has absorbed. He is about to use it to kill Superman, but Humanite disables him, and surrenders, revealing himself to be the traitor. Joker decides to run, but not before finishing Batman off. He runs back to the cell, and finds that Batman has already freed himself from the restraints. "I could have escaped at any time," he explains, knocking out Joker. As Luthor and the Gang are taken into custody, Humanite asks Batman "you'll keep our bargain?" Batman agrees – "double what Luthor was paying." It seems that he suborned Humanite while he was being guarded. Back in Stryker's Island, Luthor pounds on the wall of his cell, yelling that Humanite will pay for his treachery. Humanite, who is watching an opera program on public broadcasting, serenely ignores him. The program concludes, "this program was made possible by a gift from the Ultra-Humanite, and viewers like you." Continuity * This marks the end of Luthor's career as a "legitimate" businessman, after which he is either a prisoner or a fugitive from justice. * The harmful effects of Kryptonite on humans were first referenced in the episode "World's Finest," when it is revealed that all the multiple owners of the "Laughing Dragon" statue died prematurely. * Although Luthor's condition is stabilized, he is not finally cured for some time. Background Information Trivia * First appearance of Ultra-Humanite and Cheetah. * First appearance of Joker on . * In order of production, this is the first appearance of Copperhead, Solomon Grundy, Shade, and Star Sapphire, but they also appeared in the episode "Fury," which was aired first. * Although Cheetah is dragged away to be executed, she is seen imprisoned in the van along with the rest of the Gang after they are taken into custody, and appears in future episodes of and . How she escaped is not explained on-screen. However, Bruce Timm explained that Cheetah was in fact suppposed to be killed off, and was merely "spared" due to an animation/continuity error. * Luthor says, "Et tu, Humanite?" This is a reference to the famous line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, spoken by Caesar to Brutus, whom he realizes has betrayed him. * Joker's last words to Batman before falling unconscious are "You're dethspicable!" a la Daffy Duck. * Luthor's Kryptonite poisoning was a major story arc in the comics, received as a result of wearing a chip of Kryptonite on a ring for several years. Luthor avoided dying by transferring his brain into a stronger, younger clone of himself (with a full head of hair). However, his clone body aged prematurely, forcing Luthor to sell his soul in order to avoid becoming a permanent cripple. * Luthor's battlesuit is also based directly on one made famous in the comics. Cast Quotes Footnotes Category: Justice League episodes